All’s fair in love and war, right? But is it in content creation? Two food content creators have been caught in a bitter feud over content, with one accusing the other of content theft. But at the centre of it is a conversation on privilege and respectability politics.
What’s cooking?
In June, Onezwa Mbola accused a “very popular content creator” of stealing her content.
While Mbola did not name the creator, people noticed similarities between her recipes and those of Nara Smith, a wildly popular creator on TikTok.
Smith, a Lesotho-born German model who lives in the US, is known for her content, including making food from scratch in haute couture. Mbola also makes her meals from scratch, all the while embracing rural life in the Eastern Cape. Smith has over 8 million followers on TikTok, while Mbola only has over 600,000.
Mbola, who appeared in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, is celebrated for her foraging and farm-living content. She used to work as a marine navigator before moving back to Willowvale, Eastern Cape.
Smith was embroiled in controversy over claims that she was a Mormon “tradwife.” the tradwife, or “traditional wife”, is a woman who embraces “traditional gender roles.” It’s something of a dog whistle for the far-right.
Smith converted to Mormonism after marrying her husband, model Lucky Blue Smith. During a “Get Ready With Me” TikTok earlier this year, she said she had always wanted to be a young mother and was not a hardcore Mormon. “I don’t wear garments. I didn’t get married in the temple.” The criticisms against her were that she was trying to influence people into becoming Mormon tradwives. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has often been accused of being oppressive to women.
In a now-deleted video, Mbola said, “For four months now, I have watched a very, very popular content creator use my ideas, and again, I’m not the first person to do anything. They’ve continuously used my ideas to get views. Now, that would be fine, except in South Africa, we don’t get paid for views, and where she is, they get paid for views, so she has been making money off stealing my content.”
People noticed an interesting pattern: Mbola would post her recipes, and Smith would wait a few days before posting an almost identical meal.
The latest delicious drama includes noodles—no, not the two-minute kind. On Sunday, Mbola posted a recipe for her homemade Biangbiang noodles with antelope meat, and on Tuesday, Smith made rice noodles with steak. While the two meals are distinctly different, the internet, as usual, latched on, with people pointing out on Smith’s video that Onezwa had done it first. Well, honestly, the only ingredient that was the same was the broccoli.
But why does this matter? Mbola and Smith’s beef is as old as time: People with more power and access take advantage of others’ ideas. In South Africa, TikTok creators do not have access to a creator fund that rewards views monetarily, unlike in other regions. Instead, they rely heavily on brand collaborations for income.
The reasons vary.
In some countries, regulatory hurdles to transferring funds internationally or limitations on foreign currency transactions make it difficult for creators to earn. In contrast, limited internet access or high data costs make monetary models unsustainable in others.
In her weekly column, It’s a Lifestyle, News24 Life deputy editor Kaunda Selisho writes that the real issue is that people believe that one woman, Smith, is more deserving of respect than the other. “It ties back to issues like featurism, pretty privilege, and proximity to wealth. Nara Smith is a mixed-race woman with lighter skin and European features. With a parent from Lesotho, Onezwa, on the other hand, is a medium-toned black woman who keeps her hair natural and lives in a rural area. She doesn’t conform to the more polished aesthetics that Instagram and TikTok users often favour.”
Selisho argues that Mbola’s experience is “a stark reminder of the disparities that persist in the digital age, where appearance, social status, and the validation of the masses can unjustly tip the scales of success and respect.” We couldn’t agree more.
+50
